Read Recon Marines II: Marine's Heiress, The for Free Online Page B

She sensed him
watching her as she served the other customers. On the few
occasions their gazes collided, she could read nothing from his. He
might have been an alien species.
    * * * *
    Desire for a woman hadn’t stirred in
Vin since Yalo had died. He’d expected he might never feel it again
and accepted it. Until now. Emma Jones had disturbed his sleep
since the first day he’d tracked her down to this outpost. He’d
thought it was some strange twist in his mind created by knowing
he’d found the last ingredient needed for his vengeance. But from
the first time he’d spied her small form flitting cheerfully about
the street, regions of his body had awakened with base
need.
    Now Emma tempted him with delicious
foods and bright smiles. Everything about her differed from Yalo.
Yalo had been physically strong, her body firm with muscles. Emma
looked so tiny and fragile Vin wondered how she lifted the heavy
plates she balanced so skillfully as she served the men in the
café. Yalo’s personality had been one of grit and command similar
to the commander of a fighter squadron. Nearly every word out of
her mouth sounded like a challenge. Vin had loved the way she gave
no quarter and expected no help from anyone. Emma’s voice was soft
and kind, even when anger sparked in her dark eyes. There seemed
not a tough bone in her body though she’d handled the blood and
gore of Russ’ injuries without flinching. Her contradictions
confused him at their every meeting.
    Vin dug into the grape pie, savoring
the tang of the fruit softened by some type of syrupy sweetness.
Other men watched Emma with the same avid interest Vin couldn’t
deny in himself. She flitted about like a sparkle of sunlight
reflecting off a crystal. No matter how many times he reminded
himself she was only the bait he needed to find her father, his
body ignored him. He shifted in the chair, glad his civilian
clothing hung loosely on him.
    Experience and training had taught him
to put personal physical discomforts behind the needs of the
mission. He didn’t need Emma’s body though he wanted it, wanted it
more each day. It was the other longing that challenged his
control, this fierce desire to linger here so she might talk to him
again. Or turn her smile his way. Perhaps thank him again for the
chair though he hadn’t made it for her.
    He’d escaped the despairing loneliness
of being a Recon Marine once for mere weeks. The heartbreak of
losing Yalo overshadowed the memories of happiness. He wouldn’t
give into the addicting warmth of a woman’s companionship ever
again.
    Vin left the pie unfinished. He walked
out when Emma carried a stack of plates through the curtain. The
short walk to the cold, empty repair shop dampened his physical
yearnings but not even the quiet emptiness of his loft bed wiped
the image of her smile from his glum thoughts.

Chapter Four
    Vin woke six hours later during the
darkest part of the night when men slept the deepest. He didn’t
move, waiting to hear whatever had pulled him from sleep. He’d
intended to rise an hour before the sun, the best time to hunt.
Recon Marines needed no alarm bells. He could lift himself from
sleep at any hour of his choosing. It was still almost an hour
before his planned rising time.
    The dark held no terrors for Vin. His
genetic superiority included enhanced eyesight, hearing and smell.
The thin walls of the shop didn’t keep out the cool air or sound.
The faint scratch of a foot on stones behind the building followed
by another drove Vin from his bed. He’d retired naked, preserving
his few articles of clothing so he had as little laundry to do as
possible. For this night work, he put on his camouflage military
clothing that he wore to hunt. The extraordinary clothing blended
into any variety of backgrounds, but it wasn’t available to
civilians. Emma had already guessed his military background so it
wouldn’t matter if she saw him wearing it.
    Vin strapped on his weapons belt
holding his